This tutorial will teach you how to take ripped DVD files and convert them into .avi format. .avi format is by far the most common format for movies that you can download online.

As seen in this screenshot, I have ripped a movie and have ended up with these files. These files are playable via VLC Player, but avi provides much better compression, portability, and compatibility.


To convert these files to .avi, we will use a free program called Auto GK. It can be downloaded by clicking here: Download Auto GK

Next, you need to make sure you have enabled the option in Windows that allows you to view file extensions. The following steps should work in any edition of Windows. Open up My Computer (referred to as Computer in Vista) and then click Tools (next to File, Edit, etc). To see this in Vista, you may need to open up Computer and then press the Alt key. This should allow you to see the File, Edit, View, etc options. After you've clicked Tools, click "Folder Options..." You should see something like this:


If you see this, you've done everything right so far. Now click the "View" tab. Look for an option (about half way down) that says "Hide extensions for known file types." Make sure this box is NOT checked, and then press OK.

Install Auto GK and open it up. Click the icon next to the "Input file" field, it looks like this:

The "Open" box appears, now navigate to the folder where your ripped files are. Should look like this:


Now click the "View Menu" by clicking this icon:

A list of options is displayed, click on "Details." Now your screen will look something like this:

(Notice we can easily see the file extensions due to the setting that we disabled in Windows)

Now, all that's left to do is pick the correct .ifo file. Do NOT select a .vob file, as this will not give you the result you desire. To determine which .ifo file is the correct one (some DVD rips will contain 5 or even more .ifo files, so be sure to select the right one!), you must understand that each .vob file 'belongs' to a corresponding .ifo file. So, in the screenshot above, any .vob file with the name VTS_01_x.vob (where x represents any number) belongs to the VTS_01_0.ifo file. So, if I had a .vob file named "VTS_05_1.vob" it would 'belong' to an .ifo file with the name "VTS_05_0.ifo". We know this because they each have a "05" after the first underscore.

So now you know how to tell which .vob files correspond to which .ifo files. This is dandy, but you still don't know which .ifo file to pick. Quite simply, the .ifo file that you should pick is the one that has the biggest .vob files associated with it. In my example, "VTS_01_0.ifo" clearly has the biggest .vob files associated with it. But my example could be easier than the movie you're dealing with, you may have 5 or more .ifo files to look through before you choose the correct one. At any rate, just choose the one that has the biggest .vob files associated with it.

Now that you've selected the correct .ifo file, press open. Now you'll see that the "Input file" field is filled, while the "Output file" field is not. Click this icon once again, but this time click the one for the Output file:

Navigate to the directory in which you'd like your .avi movie to be saved to, then click Save.

Now, looking on to where Auto GK has "Step 2," you'll see options for audio tracks and subtitle tracks. Do as you please with these settings. If you are confused as to what audio tracks to include, AC3 is the best, and 6ch will provide 6 channels of sound (built for surround sound) while 2ch will provide 2 channels of sound (built for stereo). Do as you please with these settings.

On to Step 3, you have options for size. Once again, do as you please with these settings. As a rule of thumb, I would NEVER use any of the "Predefined size" options, as they split the movie into multiple .avi files sometimes. So, for example, if you used the "2 CDs (1400 Mb)" option, then you would have two 700 MB .avi files. The reasoning behind this is that you're supposed to choose this if you were planning on burning your .avi files to 2 seperate CDs. If you have a certain size in mind (such as a torrent uploader, who would typically use 700 MB), then use the "Custom size" option. Otherwise, use the "Target quality" setting, which will not try to restrict the file size, it will simply covert the DVD files into .avi, regardless of the output size. This option, as far as quality goes, is much better than the "Custom size" option because it won't restrict the quality due to file size. A movie at 100% quality will still not take up more than 2 gigs or so.

In the "Advanced Settings" (Step 4), make sure you have XviD selected since it will produce a better picture. Other than that, I'd leave these settings alone, but feel free to mess with them.

Now you're ready to begin conversion. Click "Add Job," then click "Start." The conversion process could take a very long time, I've found out it's most convenient to just run the program and then go to bed so it converts while I sleep.

Note: For even more advanced options, you can access Auto GK's hidden features by pressing Ctrl+F9. These are for very advanced users.

Note: If your finished .avi is working correctly, but the sound does not match up with what's happening on screen, see this tutorial: How to synchronize an .avi file's sound.

Having trouble? Contact me via email: admin@tr1x.com